Rockstar Hints at Bully Sequel

[The Wooster]

Rockstar Hints at Bully Sequel

Rockstar's Dan Houser drops a tiny tidbit about a potential sequel to 2006's excellent Bully.

When asked about the eight year between Max Payne 2 and the upcoming Max Payne 3 in an interview with Gamasutra, Houser talked about how Rockstar picks their projects, and mentioned a potential Bully sequel.

In his words:

"Contrary to a lot of people, we like to take a little bit of time at the end of a game before starting a sequel, so we can wait for the excitement or disappointment and everything else of the experience to shake down and really see what we should do in the next game.

So we knew that we didn't want to start doing the Bully sequel instantly at that second with those guys -- even though it is a property that, like Max, we adore and might come back to in the future. There was just no impetus to do that then.

So we said, "You can do Max, and then we will see what we can do with Bully." So it was really waiting for the slot to open up and the group to open up to at least start work on it."

In my opinion, Bully, or Canis Canem as it's called in PAL regions, stands as the greatest bait and switch in gaming history. Given Rockstar's penchant for irreverent violence and the few screens it showed of the game during development, the public was expecting something akin to Grand Theft Auto. The popular media swarmed to it, accusing the game of glorifying bullying and childhood violence before it had even reached the shelves.

Of course, when Bully was finally released it actually turned out to be a light-hearted romp with a fairly admirable moral message about the need to stand up for yourself, be comfortable in your own sexuality and reject peer pressure. Protagonist Jimmy Hopkins wasn't the thug he appeared to be, but an intelligent young man prone to defending the downtrodden and exposing the ethical transgressions of the school's staff. It was hilarious. Unfortunately, it didn't quite sell as well as the GTA series, nor the shockingly violent Manhunt and, save an updated port for the 360 and pc, the series has been on the back burner for years. This marks the first time a sequel to Bully has been brought up in around two years. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96034-Bully-2-Accidentally-Revealed] Hopefully more comes of it this time.

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6550/dan_houser_on_how_rockstar_does_it.php?page=2]



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[Fuselage]

Bully is one of my All-time favorite games, I hope this sequel lives up to the original, which I believe it will since Rockstar has the helms.

 

[Scrustle]

Awesome. I've been waiting for a sequel to this game forever. But it kind of makes sense they would wait so long. It was a pretty risky move, but it really payed off. As long as they don't sober the game down for the sequel like they did with GTA 4. It works with GTA but it wouldn't be right to do that with this IP.

 

[Royas]

Bully was a great game. A pity the PC port was so awful. I was never able to get it to run on either of my two systems. Truly one of the worst ports I've ever experienced.

If they make a sequel, I just hope the get the PC version right for a change.

 

[William Dickbringer]

good game I'd buy a second one
my 360 glitches out sometimes when jimmy sits in the chair he'd spin in it

 

[DJDarque]

I hope this actually happens. Bully is my second favorite Rockstar game behind Red Dead Redemption.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Oh yes please, dear God, let this happen!

You can keep your GTA's and your Red Dead Redemption's, just give a Bully sequel.

 

[VanityGirl]

I was just telling my boyfriend the other day how much I wanted a Bully sequel!
Rockstar, hurry up and make this game so you can take my damn money!

 

[ArtemusClydeFrog]

I can't think of a game that I'd rather get my hands on than a Bully sequel. I'd be afraid of whether it could live up to the original or not, but they definitely need to give it a go!
The original is one of the best games I've ever played.

 

[kajinking]

I have to admit I'm a bit worried, up till now I never even considered a second game since the first was just so good, so unique. I'm not sure how this will play out but if rockstar works the same magic they're known for this could be a VERY nice game that could stand out from the mass produced games we've been seeing lately.

 

[JehuBot]

Oh , dear god , YES!

Bully was one of my favorite games on the PS2 , really loved it , really enjoyed it , it's T rated GTA done right.

please make the dream of a sequel come true , R* ! 8D

 

[llubtoille]

Aww, I thought it said Buffy

 

[jawakiller]

Hell yeah!

 

[NotSoLoneWanderer]

Hopefully it takes place in a very expensive college. Jimmy didn't do all those classroom minigames for nothing.

 

[Jumplion]

In my opinion, Bully, or Canis Canem as it's called in PAL regions, stands as the greatest bait and switch in gaming history. Given Rockstar's penchant for irreverent violence and the few screens it showed of the game during development, the public was expecting something akin to Grand Theft Auto. The popular media swarmed to it, accusing the game of glorifying bullying and childhood violence before it had even reached the shelves.

Of course, when Bully was finally released it actually turned out to be a light-hearted romp with a fairly admirable moral message about the need to stand up for yourself, be comfortable in your own sexuality and reject peer pressure. Protagonist Jimmy Hopkins wasn't the thug he appeared to be, but an intelligent young man prone to defending the downtrodden and exposing the ethical transgressions of the school's staff. It was hilarious. Unfortunately, it didn't quite sell as well as the GTA series, nor the shockingly violent Manhunt and, save an updated port for the 360 and pc, the series has been on the back burner for years. This marks the first time a sequel to Bully has been brought up in around two years. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96034-Bully-2-Accidentally-Revealed] Hopefully more comes of it this time.

Am I the only one who finds it a little sad that Rockstar couldn't advertise the game as a lighthearted romp because of their reputation for crazy violence in their games? They've become so engrained in the controversy machine that it's the only way to advertise their games at this point. While I wasn't a big fan of GTAIV, it did have some aspects in it's story and themes and whatnot that made it stand out that really could have made an impact so some parts of game design. Rockstar is an intelligent group, but they hide behind an immature mask that I don't think they'll ever get out of, which is important because they're going the more serious route with their games.